Oamaru property owners may be offered the chance to pay their share of a $12 million upgrade of the town's water supply with a lump sum payment.
The Waitaki District Council has upgraded the town's treatment plant to meet new drinking water standards, and people are paying an annual rate to meet the interest and pay off the loan needed for the work.
Now the council is considering offering ratepayers the chance to make an individual lump sum payment, instead of paying an annual rate.
The idea will be included in the council's 2009-10 draft annual plan, which people will be able to comment on through the submissions process.
The council has estimated paying the loan and its interest through an annual rate would cost Oamaru water consumers $137.60 a year each. The term of the loan the council took for the water supply work is 20 years.
A one-off lump sum payment of $1500 could be another option for ratepayers.
A report to the council said there were positives and negatives with a lump sum payment.
That included the potential impact of taking a significant amount of money out of the local economy in a short space of time.
There was also a potential social impact. Ratepayers who had in past taken the lump sum option had included some that struggled to afford it.
It was suggested that if the council did offer a lump sum option in its draft plan, it should not receive special promotion or publicity.
